Flying Monkeys and Best Friends
by Klutzygirl33
Summary: Spoilers for "New York City Serenade". Emma needs someone to talk to about Walsh and chooses her best friend.


**I don't own Once Upon A Time and never will. No copyright infringement intended.**

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Emma needed to talk to someone about Walsh – she couldn't keep it inside any longer. Hook was out and so were her parents. And since Ruby was her mom's best friend, that automatically ruled her out too. So she chose August – he was her best friend after all, and hopefully he would be able to handle it. She hoped so anyway. He wasn't one to judge to begin with, but Emma couldn't help but worry. They headed to the park and sat down on the swings. "So what'd you want to talk to me about?" August asked.

Emma sighed and kicked her feet. She refused to look up. "I had a boyfriend in New York."

"Okay?" August wasn't sure why they had to talk about this in private (or at all, actually). He figured she was about to tell him and waited patiently.

She took a deep breath. "We were together for eight months and he proposed, but I was thinking about saying no until Hook showed up."

"You have feelings for Hook?" He hated the pirate and hoped not.

Emma's face said it all. "No, that is not what I'm saying here. Will you shut up and let me explain?"

He put his hands up in surrender. "Sorry. Continue."

"Thank you. Anyway, turns out he was working against me the whole time. Walsh was a flying monkey. I was fucking a flying monkey for eight months," she mumbled under her breath. She cringed and waited for his answer.

August wasn't sure he had heard that right. "Did you say flying monkey? Can you please repeat that?"

She glared at the sand, but complied. "I fucked a flying monkey!" Emma cried, thankful no one else was around to hear the confession. That would be embarrassing.

He stared at her for a few seconds. "Emma, look at me. Please."

Her head snapped up. "What?"

"He wasn't in flying monkey form while you were having sex?" He had to make sure.

Emma shook her head. "Nope, but that's beside the point, August!"

August couldn't help it – he started laughing so hard he nearly fell off the swing. "I'm sorry, Emma. I really am. It's really gross that you fucked a flying monkey, but it's hilarious. Only you."

"Yeah, keep it up, buddy." Emma was just thrilled this was his reaction instead of disgust (well there was some, but it was directed at the situation and not her, something she was grateful for). But she cracked a smile and started laughing with August.

He finally stopped calmed down and stopped laughing a few minutes later. "So you needed to talk to me about just that?"

She shrugged. "It was nice to get it out and tell somebody. This would be the most awkward conversation ever with my mother." And they were already having plenty of awkward conversations due to the missing year and the pregnancy. They definitely didn't need more.

"Well, I'm glad you chose me." He was actually touched Emma had decided to talk to him – she could have talked to anyone else, like Archie. The therapist definitely would have kept her secret.

"I still can't believe this is my life sometimes, you know? Flying monkeys, Snow White and Prince Charming, Pinocchio, and countless other shit. But it's fun when we're not running for our lives and dealing with disaster." That was ninety percent of their time now. She longed for a period of peace just so they could relax. Maybe it would happen after they dealt with this latest situation in Storybrooke.

August knew how she felt since he felt the exact same way. "Yeah, this town is nuts sometimes."

Emma looked at him, suddenly shy. "You're a great friend, August 'Pinocchio' Booth."

"Are you going to do that every time?"

"I might! It's fun to say." She grinned at him.

He grinned back as Emma moved her seat closer to him (accidentally, because the swings were like that). August startled when she grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "What are you doing?"

Emma shrugged. "Nothing."

And that's when August finally decided to make his move on the woman he loved. He hoped he didn't scare her away, but he was prepared to face the consequences. He leaned over and kissed her right on the lips. "So…?"

She pulled away, still smiling. "That was nice."

"Just nice? You could at least tell me I was doing something wrong," he joked. Okay, August was hiding his insecurities a little, but who could blame him? They were both fucked up messes.

"Nope, nothing wrong. We should do that again."

"Yeah?" August was a little surprised.

"Yeah," Emma confirmed.

"Okay then." He listened and then kissed her again. They were only interrupted by a fake cough. They reluctantly pulled apart and found Snow staring at them.

"In a playground? Really?" She looked amused, however, and also happy. She liked August and he seemed like a good match for Emma. Snow had finally given up on Neal, and Hook definitely wasn't a good match for her daughter (although he was a good friend to her husband).

"Why were you watching us?" Emma tried. She didn't think it would work, but she had to make an effort at least.

"Because I was talking a walk. You two are lucky Henry – or another child – didn't see you."

"Sorry. I'll be home soon. You okay?" Emma was still a little unsure how she felt about her mom's pregnancy, but she couldn't help but worry about her safety – especially with so many people disappearing because of this new threat.

Snow was grateful her daughter was this worried about her. She hoped Emma would adjust to having a sibling, but understood it wasn't an easy situation. She and Charming were trying to spend as much time with her as possible before the birth. "I'm fine. Stop hovering, please."

"I'll drive you home. Go get in my car." Emma wasn't about to let her walk the streets alone now.

"You're just like your father," Snow grumbled, but she listened and headed back to the yellow car. It wasn't exactly a comfortable fit now, but nothing was comfortable anymore.

Emma kissed August again. "I'll call you later so we can talk."

"Looking forward to it." August waved goodbye and watched her walk away.

Emma was thrilled she had chosen to talk to August – it had worked out well in her favor. And she could use August's help when it came to this new threat. It wasn't going to be easy to defeat whatever this was, and they all knew it. But they could get through it together, and life would go on in Storybrooke again.


End file.
